Goto Section: 76.987 | 76.1000 | Table of Contents
FCC 76.990
Revised as of October 2, 2015
Goto Year:2014 |
2016
§ 76.990 Small cable operators.
(a) Effective February 8, 1996, a small cable operator is exempt from rate
regulation on its cable programming services tier, or on its basic service
tier if that tier was the only service tier subject to rate regulation as of
December 31, 1994, in any franchise area in which that operator services
50,000 or fewer subscribers.
(b) Procedures. (1) A small cable operator, may certify in writing to its
franchise authority at any time that it meets all criteria necessary to
qualify as a small operator. Upon request of the local franchising
authority, the operator shall identify in writing all of its affiliates that
provide cable service, the total subscriber base of itself and each
affiliate, and the aggregate gross revenues of its cable and non-cable
affiliates. Within 90 days of receiving the original certification, the
local franchising authority shall determine whether the operator qualifies
for deregulation and shall notify the operator in writing of its decision,
although this 90-day period shall be tolled for so long as it takes the
operator to respond to a proper request for information by the local
franchising authority. An operator may appeal to the Commission a local
franchise authority's information request if the operator seeks to challenge
the information request as unduly or unreasonably burdensome. If the local
franchising authority finds that the operator does not qualify for
deregulation, its notice shall state the grounds for that decision. The
operator may appeal the local franchising authority's decision to the
Commission within 30 days.
(2) Once the operator has certified its eligibility for deregulation on the
basic service tier, the local franchising authority shall not prohibit the
operator from taking a rate increase and shall not order the operator to
make any refunds unless and until the local franchising authority has
rejected the certification in a final order that is no longer subject to
appeal or that the Commission has affirmed. The operator shall be liable for
refunds for revenues gained (beyond revenues that could be gained under
regulation) as a result of any rate increase taken during the period in
which it claimed to be deregulated, plus interest, in the event the operator
is later found not to be deregulated. The one-year limitation on refund
liability will not be applicable during that period to ensure that the
filing of an invalid small operator certification does not reduce any refund
liability that the operator would otherwise incur.
(3) Within 30 days of being served with a local franchising authority's
notice that the local franchising authority intends to file a cable
programming services tier rate complaint, an operator may certify to the
local franchising authority that it meets the criteria for qualification as
a small cable operator. This certification shall be filed in accordance with
the cable programming services rate complaint procedure set forth in
§ 76.1402. Absent a cable programming services rate complaint, the operator
may request a declaration of CPST rate deregulation from the Commission
pursuant to § 76.7.
(c) Transition from small cable operator status. If a small cable operator
subsequently becomes ineligible for small operator status, the operator will
become subject to regulation but may maintain the rates it charged prior to
losing small cable operator status if such rates (with an allowance for
minor variations) were in effect for the three months preceding the loss of
small cable operator status. Subsequent rate increases following the loss of
small cable operator status will be subject to generally applicable
regulations governing rate increases.
Note to § 76.990: For rules governing small cable systems and small cable
companies, see § 76.934.
[ 64 FR 35951 , July 2, 1999]
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Subpart O—Competitive Access to Cable Programming
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Goto Section: 76.987 | 76.1000
Goto Year: 2014 |
2016
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